For Immediate Release
Press Release
Dushanbe, Tajikistan, October 25, 2023 – Today, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population and Republican Center of Tuberculosis (TB) Control, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria (the Global Fund), kicked off the seventh regional conference “Integrated TB Control in Central Asia.” The two-day event focused on reducing all forms of TB in Central Asia, and brought together more than 150 attendees, including representatives of the Central Asian Ministries of Health and other international partners.
In her opening remarks, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Carrie Lee noted, “Today’s event demonstrates the continued partnership between the United States and Tajikistan’s Ministry of Health to improve healthcare services in the country. We applaud Tajikistan’s leadership and commitment to halt tuberculosis as a deadly disease. Working together, we can improve the health and well-being of Tajikistan’s citizens.”
USAID has nearly three decades of collaboration with Tajikistan’s National Tuberculosis Program and supports the overall goals of its 2021-2025 National Strategic Program for Tuberculosis Control. Among the World Health Organization’s list of 30 countries with the highest burden of multi-drug resistant TB – a form of TB that is resistant to some medicines – four are in Central Asia, including Tajikistan. USAID’s Global TB Strategy focuses on providing technical expertise and support that strengthen and expand quality standards of TB detection, treatment, and care at all levels of service delivery, from the national to the grassroot. Over the years, countries in Central Asia have strengthened their national TB service response programs via rigorous political and economic commitment. Still, the high burden of drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis remains a critical challenge to effective TB control in the region.
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USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. For more information, visit https://www.usaid.gov/central-asia-regional and USAID’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/USAIDTajikistan
